when life gives you lace for brains, blog about it

Category Archives: FOOD!!

it’s called the $6.00 date smoothie because that’s how much we paid for it at a local cafe. it was so amazingly delicious that we got out the vitamix when we got home and ran some delicious experiments to come up with our very own date smoothie. just to be clear, this is NOT a healthy smoothie. but it tastes AMAZING!!! and its gluten and dairy free. it’s too good not to share, so enjoy :)

our box started out much bigger as you can see in the first picture, but then after constructing it to be the larger size we realized there was NO WAY we were going to have enough dirt to fill the box. it could have been enough if the dirt in our yard didn’t look like this:

NOTHING will grow in that!

and yes, in case you are wondering, “dirt” full of rusted and sharp things such as this DOES violate habitability codes. but our thankless landlord was less concerned about our safety and quality of life and more concerned about us using water (he pays for it). he removed the hose and sent us a letter stating that we agreed to plant native drought tolerant plants and water using a bucket filled from our kitchen sink…which is up a flight of stairs. we never agreed to any of that. so there was a delay getting our box set up and planted because we had to wade through some tenant-landlord negotiation muck before it could happen.

we are really happy with the end result though. and we can’t wait to harvest some of these greens! having MS was definitely the impetus to eating better food, and eating better led me to learning more about what i am eating, and this in turn led me to making a planter box to grow veggies. now we have a yard that looks less like a construction site dump overgrown with weeds and more like a place i wanna spend my time. the neighbors are taking advantage of the hammock i hung which makes me really happy :)

none of this would have happened if i didn’t have MS. being diagnosed was and still is one of the most influential events of my life. but it’s not always a bad thing.

and recently, the whole foods we normally shop at stopped carrying any sort of hemp milk (blasphemy!!). we kept requesting it. that became awkward. meanwhile, K had mentioned that it’s possible to make hemp milk in a vitamix.

add it to the vitamix and blend it for about 30 seconds. pour into a jar of some kind, refrigerate, and shake before using. ENJOY!!!

the beauty of making your own is that you can adjust it for your needs. if you like sweeter hemp milk (the recipe is pretty neutral) for cereal but would like something more neutral for cooking its easy to do. also, if you want creamier hemp milk, add less water, if you refer less creamy, dilute it.

there i was, bored, hungry, and K was in class. what’s a non-cooking individual like myself to do?! well, i got creative and for once it turned out well. K loved it. it was the first time i have ever heard her exclaim “that’s fucking delicious!” after taking a bite of soup. oh snap, i must have done something right!

ingredients

1 medium red onion, diced

1 large potato, sliced any way you prefer

2 stalks of celery, diced

3 cloves of garlic, minced

handful of shredded red kale leaves (about 1 cup)

1.5 tbs chopped parsley

sliced mushrooms (i used the last couple in the fridge, but i don’t think the amount matters so use as many as you like)

add in the onion, mushroom, and celery and sautee until the onion becomes transparent and the other veggies soften

toss in the garlic

sprinkle oregano and salt generously

add the potatoes and chorizo and allow to warm up for about 5 minutes stirring frequently. the chorizo will begin to release its oils. don’t allow it to heat too much because the cured chorizo will get crunchy. think bacon bits…not what you want in soup!

take a 2 cup measuring cup and fill with hot water

add one tbs of better than boullion to the water in the measuring cup and stir until it dissolves then pour into pot

add 2 more cups of water to pot and stir ingredients together

add most of parsley

bring to a simmer and then cover (i left the lid at an angle so it was mostly covered)

these are fucking delicious. that’s right, i have to use bad language to describe how unbelieveably tasty they are. they are that good.

i LOVE them, and not just because they are free of everything bad. they aren’t just “good for being gluten free/vegan/etc” they are actually DELICIOUS simply because they are.

the last time K and i went to whole foods, she pointed at the hail merrys and said “more?” i said “always!” a man walking down the aisle witnessed the interaction and chuckled to himself, probably because he too knows how chocolately and rich and amazing these bad boys are.

plus, they come in other flavors. and the other desserts by this company such as the lemon or chocolate torte are equally as delicious. you should get some. :)

one of the things i have missed most about being gluten and dairy free is tasty mac n cheese. i tried a couple of recipes but none were quite right, so my lovely kitchen-savvy partner whipped up this recipe in the kitchen one night. we love it! maybe you will too

-preheat the over to 350
-boil a pot of water and add 2 1/4 c. dry gluten free pasta (we used bionature elbows)
-cook pasta until it is half done then drain and set aside

while the pasta is cooking, add to another pot:
-2 tsp. butter substitute
-2 tsp. sweet rice flour
-1 c. unsweetened hemp milk
and make a roux–stir until lumps are out and the mixture thickens over medium-low heat
-add a pinch each of onion and garlic powder–a little goes a long way
-add 1/2 c. or more :) of cheese substitute )we use daiya mozzarella and cheddar)
-allow cheese to melt and mix into roux
-salt and pepper to taste

-pour pasta into the roux and stir until noodles are coated
it should seem a little too saucy–this is what you want because the noodles are going to need moisture to continue cooking
-pour the noodles and sauce into a small greased baking pan
-sprinkle more cheese and some gluten free bread crumbs on top
-cook for about 20 mins until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbly

serves about 4

and if you are daring, the next morning you can fry an egg and throw it on top of the leftovers for breakfast like i do.
Enjoy!!!